Is it the end of the trend?

While previous decades had their defining looks, fashion has taken a turn for the anything goes.

Beth Teitell, a writer for the Globe, thinks it started with Crocs (shoes) — a kind of clog that took the world by storm.

Marian Salzman, one of the world’s most decorated trend spotters,??is trying to peg the moment the fashion trend died — “when the biggest trend became no trend at all and the day the fashion police turned in their badges.

“You saw mothers doing school runs in AG Jeans, H&M T-shirts, a vintage Chanel jacket, and Crocs on their feet,” says Salzman, shuddering. “That was the moment that life stood still.”

The year? Call it 2007?— and every year since. And now we’ve come to the point where “seasons don’t matter, trends don’t matter, age doesn’t matter,” says another New York style forecaster, Sharon Graubard.

It’s hard to really know what the trend is these days. In decades past we could sort of peg what the trends were. Now, I’ll have to agree that fashion trends are like airplane food in a way — “objects of derision” you find yourself missing.

But what happened, she asks? Did a motley mob charge forth, in skinny pants and pleated slacks, platforms and flats, baby-doll tops and cinched waists, nude lips and maraschino ones, jumpsuits and bare midriffs, and topple a statue of the Vogue editor?

Blame it on grunge, says Graubard, a senior vice president and fashion director at forecasting firm Stylesight. Yes, the plaid-flannel-and-clunky-boots look of the early 1990s.Every article of clothing becomes a layering piece. A dress can be worn over pants and it’s not given a second thought.

Back in the 1980s we had to wear big shoulders and we all had big hair. There was one look and if you didn’t wear it, you felt like you were out of fashion. At least you had some direction.

In the 1990s, the whole style was minimalism. If you wore something embroidered or decorated, you would look dumb. Wearing brights was considered Middle America.

But it’s all cracked open now, says Teitell. You can wear anything as long as you “wear it with conviction.”

She thinks that takes the pressure off the designer and puts it on the wearer.

“Isn’t that what we’re overpaying them for — confidence?,” she asks.

But confidence should come with some responsibility. Just because you have confidence doesn’t mean you have a winning look.

After reporting on various local fashion shows and seeing what area trends are, I’ve become inspired for spring.

When putting looks together, fashion consultant Sue Cervini likes to put patterns and colors together that I would never have thought possible and yet they look great! Never did I think I would wear polka dot capris with a striped nautical shirt — but I absolutely love the bold statement it makes.

Cervini said people need to think beyond trying to match everything. One bright color can pick up a subtle shade that you may never have thought of putting together.

A Miss Michigan contestant recently told me that trends are still in ... there are just more of them and you have to decipher which ones work for you.

So, as long as this is possible, the demise of trends will only loom for those unwilling to be trendsetters.Nancy Hastings is a staff writer for the Hillsdale Daily News. She can be reached at nancy.hastings@hillsdale.net.